To Converge or Hyper-Converge

Explore the myriad of converged options and determine which makes the most sense for your data center or specific use case.

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At a recent conference, a peculiar thought hit me when a panel speaker reflected on traditional converged infrastructure versus software-defined, hyper-converged infrastructure: “We’re finally done talking about the why behind converged infrastructure and now focusing on which converged infrastructure platform is best for various use cases.”

If you listen to most industry hype, you might think that hyper-converged infrastructure washes, dries and folds your laundry while powering your workloads. Others might convince you to stay away from something as unproven as hyper-converged, and instead stay with tried and true converged infrastructure. As always, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

Choosing between converged and hyper-converged

The reality of the converged landscape today is that both types are great choices for different use cases, and there are definitely cases where both may fit depending on customer preference.

For mission-critical tier one applications where guaranteed application performance and advanced data services are required, traditional converged tends to win out. It also tends to win out in cases where customers are looking to deploy a large private cloud, support a large remote office/facility or power a custom application written to scale vertically. Customers that place more value on reliability, predictable performance and vertical scalability also tend to lean towards traditional converged infrastructure.

In cases where customers need to build out a dedicated environment for a small remote office, hyper-converged may be the best choice. It also plays well in situations where customers need to start small and are dealing with unpredictable demand for their new, tier two application or small private cloud. Customers that place more value on flexibility and simplicity tend to also favor hyper-converged.

Most importantly, one size does not fit all in the converged arena and most customers will still have a combination of traditional IT infrastructure, converged infrastructure and hyper-converged infrastructure to optimally serve their various use cases. For this reason, vendors offering the most comprehensive portfolio options across both traditional and hyper-converged infrastructure, along with automated deployment and integrated management, will be best positioned in the enterprise space.

Discovering what works best for you

WWT offers a Converged Infrastructure Workshop to help customers explore the myriad of converged options and determine which makes the most sense for your data center or specific use case.

If you prefer a more hands on approach, WWT can also showcase the following solutions in our Advanced Technology Center (ATC):